MADDENING SORROW a Present Day Tale of the Fae
by Nikkione
Summary: ..As I looked out the window, I had to bite my tongue not to scream. There, lying just below my window on our lawn, was the severed head of our neighbor's Doberman. It's eyes were still open…almost as if they were staring at me, accusing me...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - - - "Invisible"

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Based on my own sordid experiences with people, I'm reminded of that saying, "human: the only species which hunts itself." …Or so I'd always thought, until I met a much older, crueler, and far less understanding species than my world had ever known. I never dreamed there would be creatures out there that would make humans appear…well, more human. And, by human, I mean humane…moral, conscionable, reasonable, and compassionate.

Sorry to tell you, but we are not alone…(*sigh,* trust me, when I say, truer words have never been spoken). And before you begin to contemplate the vast reaches of outer space, you may want to take a long hard look at your own back yard. …Ever wonder what it was your dog actually saw outside your window on that cold dark night? …Well, I got five bucks here that says you'd never in a million years guess what it was good ole' Fido actually saw. And, odds are, you wouldn't _want_ to know either…

Let me be the first to tell you, I'm a lousy storyteller. I couldn't tell a decent lie to save my life. In fact, I've often compounded my problems simply by making the attempt. And the fact that I almost lost my life tonight, all in the name of undeniable truth, is a total frickin' fluke, I swear.

…I guess I should start at the beginning, what can I say, it's the most obvious place to start, and chances are…you're not going to believe me anyway…

My name is Sarah, but please, call me "Star." My Mother told me that when I was two years old and just learning to speak, I would pronounce my name "Star-a" when I attempted to say "Sarah". Somehow, "Star" always kinda stuck with me. I wish everyone would call me Star…but teachers and parents alike continue to call me "Sarah," so I've all but grown to hate it.

I'm 15, a sophomore in high school, and as awkward as they come. I'm average height, weight, and have plain brown hair that I can't do a thing with…besides hide it under my beat up baseball cap. I've never really felt comfortable in my own skin. I'm average in every way and pretty much what one would call "forgettable." …And socially, I'm completely off the grid….I mean, in terms of popularity, I'm so invisible I'm practically transparent.

…I often find myself questioning whether or not I actually even exist, or if I'm just some random part of a piece of wallpaper, part of the background. Did you ever see a high school play? Remember the really cute teens that got to sing, dance, and got all the really good parts? …I wasn't one of them. I was back with the fat, plain, and otherwise, frumpy girls who sang only in the really big numbers. I was usually the girl in the second to the last row of the chorus, actually. You know, the ones listed on the second to last page of the playbook? In fact, if you tried to look for me in the last yearbook of our school, you'd be lucky to find my random sleeve in a picture or two from our entire class album. …Like I said, invisible.

…And I suppose, like most unpopular teens, I simply would have remained in the fringes…if not for _**them**_.

….

It started out like any other school day.

"Will you get your ass out of bed! This is the third time I've yelled up the stairs! If you miss the bus again, you'll have to ride your bike because I'm not driving you to school again! Last warning!,"

(Yep, I got yelled at by my Mother for oversleeping…again.) …I finally opened my crusted eyes to the bright yellow room covered in cheesy plastered rainbows. (What the hell was I thinking? There really ought to be a law that you aren't allowed to decorate your room before age 10...)

And so, I sat upright in my warm bed, which beckoned me still, and thought, "Another horrid Monday on the horizon, rise and shine sweet cheeks! Time to get dressed up in second rate clothes that won't impress, eat brand-nameless cereal on a stomach whose nerves can't handle it anyway, and try and to avoid making eye contact with anyone you meet today who could potentially further degrade your trivial sense of self-worth…in other words, anyone."

My only saving thought of the day, the only one I'd had for as long as I can remember is "This will not last, there IS life after high school. You will eventually leave this place and you'll never look back"… happy thoughts, such happy thoughts.

I sat at the kitchen table and looked up intermittently at the large white "country goose" clock. One of the short sickly blue duck wings was disturbingly close to the 7, this meant the bus would be here in just a few short minutes. I stared down, numbly, looking at my bowl of "toasted-Ohs" and half-heartedly chased the remaining survivors around with my spoon. My Mother was finishing up her coffee as she poured over the contents of her newspaper. I guess she caught my less than enthusiastic expression, because the next thing I know, I'm getting the same old song and dance.

"I don't know why it has to be so difficult with you every single school day, Sarah. Mornings shouldn't be like this. And as far as your grades? Well, I don't understand why you don't just use some of that 'potential' that all of your teachers keep telling me you have."

(Ok, quick side note: Potential, is the word that teachers, the world over, came up with long ago that would mollify most parents while simultaneously labeling their child in his or her permanent records forever as second-rate & lazy. Take my word for it, the "P" word is the go-to word utilized by apathetic teachers who lack a thesaurus or the know-how to use one. ...No, I'm not _bitter_ or anything, what gave you that idea?)

"Yeah, ok, I'll get right on that. …You know it's been, like four years, since any of them actually told you that. You don't even know any of my teachers anymore. It's high school, thing's are different in high school…(not that you listen to me when I explain any of this stuff anyway..)," I mumbled back.

"What was that? What did you just say? One of these days that mouth of yours, is going to get you into some real trouble, Sarah… I know you think you're miserable now, kiddo, but being an adult is no picnic! You've got the world by the ass right now and you don't even know it! I think I just heard the bus next door. …You should just go out and try to make the best of your teen years, alright?"

As she turned back to page six and her latte, I roll my eyes and grabbed my inordinately over-weight back-pack (stuffed with homework that, in my defense, I had honestly intended to do but lost track of time), and ran to the end of our driveway.

…What is it about the fall that makes you feel cold and naked even though you're covered in several layers from head to toe? (It's like that cold snap that hits you when you first get out of the shower, I swear.) My teeth chatter involuntarily as I watch the bus come to a stop…about seven feet AFTER the damn driveway. So, there I am, negotiating our muddy ditch to get in the blasted yellow monstrosity…ugh, newly-trained-stupid-bus drivers suck! I toss him my worst I-hope-you-die-and-your-afterlife-involves-driving-people-just-like-me-around-in-a-frickin-bus-for-eternity look. He ignores my contempt, hiding behind his state-trooper wannabe sunglasses and then accelerates the bus before I've managed to find a seat. Thanks asshole. …*sigh*, What a perfect start I'm having…again. …Must be a day that ends in "Y."

At least the ride is uneventful. Everyone just stares and drools out of their windows…oh, the joy of riding the bus to school. At least I'm one of the older kids on the bus, everyone just leaves me alone. West Beacon is a poor town. Everyone is dressed as shabbily as me and in just as foul of a mood. We're all in the same boat…it reminds me of that funny expression, "We're all passengers on the Hindenburg, no sense fighting for a window seat,"…so true, so true.

We get to school about 25 minutes later…everyone disembarks like we are on a death march. Only today, in my case, I am. I race towards my locker. Once you get to tenth grade, you actually get one that's away from the main homerooms. That's a good thing as it means there's less chance that you're books will get kicked down the hallway as you're quickly unloading them from your bag into your locker. Not that it still doesn't happen, mind you, just a little less often now that my locker's away from the masses…

I make it to homeroom just in time to hear my name from Mrs. Critermon, AKA: half of the school's two librarians.

"Sarah Bakerman?"

"Here."

"Actually dear, you missed attendance. You really need to start getting here earlier for roll call, especially when you consider that your last name begins with a 'B.'"

"Yeah…noted," I said sarcastically.

"You're wanted in the office…and be sure to get a hall pass for your next class or you'll earn a detention."

That earned me four snarky comments, two dirty looks, one eye-roll, and a room full of "Uh-oh's" and "Busted's" from my fellow classmates, which could be heard from three doors down. Did I mention how perfect today was going?

At least the walk to the office was pleasant enough…or at least, it would have been had I not been consumed with what was going to happen to me once I got in the Office. It, much like the rest of the town, prided itself on its superficial veneer and keeping up appearances. The Office was where the majority of the school's maintenance budget was spent. It was evident by all of the _real_ plant-life, landscaping, and the newly-requisitioned arboretum across the hall…and lastly, any note-worthy student art projects produced within the past 8 years had mysteriously made their way _here_. (Not that I blame anyone for moving them, really…I mean, the "Fighting Bulls" logo in the gymnasium had certainly seen better days, it currently looked as though the JV basketball team had collectively jacked-off on it…but, I digress…)

As I walked into the Office, I remember feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up. (For the record, I've only had this feeling once before. It was years ago when I went to the NYC central park zoo and turned around uneasily to find a lion staring me down. The look it gave me was a mixture of scary and creepy. It was calculating with a degree of intelligence behind it that shouldn't have been there…and the look spoke volumes. If it could speak, I swear it would have said, "I'm feeling a bit peckish and I want you so much more than the other meat puppets around here.") Coincidentally, the well-groomed future head cheerleader sitting in the chair across from the receptionist's desk was eyeing me intensely, with that exact same look.

"Finally, I've been waiting for you forever," she said with exasperation as she continued to scrutinize me.

I looked behind me to see who the hell she was talking to, there was no one. I looked back at her and pointed to myself.

"Were you talking to me?," I asked her, clearly confused. It wasn't often a pretty, and obviously popular girl, spoke with me. I was completely thrown.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I mean, I don't see any other stupid half-breeds around here stinking up this building, do you?," she said with a sneer.

In my defense, I wasn't prepared for a conversation like this. Her voice was loud and clear…and in the presence of all the powers that be at this school…and none of the adults within the vicinity acted as though they'd heard her.

I looked around the room as my face turned eight shades of red. The receptionist was continuing to chat with the head lunch lady about the weather. I peered around the bend and saw the Principal and the Superintendent talking animatedly about their latest accolades regarding their ongoing rivalry on the golf course…but nobody noticed the Platinum blond transfer student that just insulted the resident "geek" tenth-grader. Was I invisible today?

"No, you're not invisible. But _I_ am.," she casually chided back to me.

"W-who the hell are you?," I stuttered as my barely-awake brain tried futilely to process whether or not any of this was real.

"'Hell' is such a turn of the century concept…you don't honestly believe in it do you, Sorrow?"

"Who are you? Am I awake?," I asked her as panic began to set in…surely, someone should've noticed this odd conversation by now.

"I am no one you need to be concerned with, Sorrow. And yes, you are very much awake and alive, though for how much longer…I wouldn't presume to say." she laughed as her ears elongated and her skin turned as pale as snow. She then proceeded to pull a letter opener out from her right sleeve and lunge at me with it.

I fell back away from her and crashed onto the floor. She towered above me as she moved the polished silver opener from one hand to the other, before gripping it tightly in one of her fists, and driving the point directly into my stomach. I screamed and writhed on the floor, clutching myself tightly where the wound would have been…

…And, of course, that's the moment that everyone in the room finally noticed that I was there.

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Author's comments: (...and if you liked it, **please let me know**.)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - "Mother & Child reunion"

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"…And then the school secretary said she was screaming her fool head off on the floor! ….Don't you think I know that, Steve? …No, they're debating on keeping her here overnight for observation. …Probably a psych evaluation or something, none of the Doctors have even been out to see me yet. …Who do you think? A nurse told me that, but I'm not leaving until I see the ER doctor. …Well, for starters, you could bring her pj's….no, no, they're in her top drawer . …Second on the left, I think…"

My Mother was on her cell phone with my Stepfather, Steve. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he'd been there when Mom had nobody else. He wasn't my favorite person on the planet, as it seemed him and I were constantly vying against one another for my Mother's attention and affection. I may have won the occasional battle, but I knew I'd eventually lose the War to him…and Steve knew it too. Still, he was my Mother's "go-to" guy in times of crisis…only, it always stung just a bit, knowing that said crisis was usually "me."

"Sarah? I didn't realize you'd woken up. They said you were screaming when they brought you in so they gave you a sedative of some sort. The nurse said you might be feeling groggy and light-headed.," Mom said as she came into my semi-private room (thanks, fucking HMO, …but that's what you get when you work for the county, I suppose).

"What time is it? …And which hospital are we at?"

"Mooresville General and it's almost four…in the afternoon."

"Isn't this that hospital where they say some kid jumped off the roof two years ago?," I asked her a bit deliriously.

"You know, one of these days you'll have to explain to me how it is that you can recall _that_, yet you can't seem to pass a History exam."

"S'Easy! _That_, was interesting. Besides, Hope, said she knew him…," I trailed off sadly…(Hope had been the only friend I'd ever had, and she died last year in a car accident during the last ice storm.)

"I can't tell you how scared I was when I got the call from the school nurse. At first, that dippy secretary, Cathy, told me you'd had a seizure…I almost had one myself after that! So, what's wrong, is this another get-out-of-school-free attempt? I can't get a straight answer out of anyone here, so why don't _you_ tell me. Just what the hell did you do or take before you went to school this morning?"

"So that's how it is, Mom? …Why bother explaining? …Nobody out there believes me, nobody in here believes me…but it's all true, everything I've already said! There was this blond girl sitting in the office this morning…and she sort of stabbed me, I guess. I know, I know, I don't have any proof, do I? Nope, the blood and the marks just vanished. Don't ask me to explain it, I can't! …So just forget it, let's both just go with 'I don't know,' okay? And I'm so very sorry that I've inconvenienced your life, yet again!," I blurted out after having caught sight of the doubt and shame on her face.

"…Yes, that's the same story those nurses told me you told them, but there isn't a scratch on you. Why can't you just tell me the truth? Did you know your Stepfather is rummaging around through your dresser at home as we speak? …So you best just come clean about whatever it is you took, because if you don't, you'll only make things worse on yourself when we find it. "

"Y-You really don't believe me, do you?," I said while my voice broke…I'd never touched a drug in my life, save those nasty orange baby aspirin.

"Well, frankly Sarah, over the years you've really told some real whoppers… Remember the time you told me you saw a pink flying saucer hovering over your Grandmother's goldfish pond?"

"Are you serious? That's your case-in-point? Mom, I was like eight frickin' years old when I told you that! I'm practically an adult now! Do you honestly think I'd lie about getting stabbed! I'm aware of how bad this looks, but I already told everyone what happened to me! I'm freaked out and I'm worried I'm losing my freaking mind, but I swear, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Shh," Mom motioned with her hands as she nervously pulled the door to my room closed, "Calm down and lower your voice. *sigh* …Fine, I believe YOU believe it, Sarah."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? You sound as though you think I'm crazy too!"

"Look, you'll have to forgive my skepticism here, but it's been a long day and I'm exhausted. And I had to miss work because 'my kid is having some kind of emotional meltdown.' I'm worried about you, Sarah, and this is serious! You could wind up in rehab or worse! I overheard one of those damn nurses talking about calling in social services to talk with you. This is a small county, Sarah, and people talk."

"Oh good point, Mom! Screw that someone tried to kill your Daughter today, let's focus on the important things! You know, your precious reputation with the neighbors, not to mention the time away from work and the 'personal day' you've lost by coming to the hospital to make sure I'm ALIVE! FINE! WHATEVER! NEXT TIME JUST SEND YOUR BOY, STEVE!," I yelled at her.

"I-I'm going to go grab a coffee from the cafeteria before I say something we'll both really regret. …In the meantime, start thinking about telling me the truth!," she said as she grabbed her purse off of the hospital nightstand, inadvertently, slamming my door into the wall as she disappeared around the corner and out of my line of site.

"Whatever, Mom…just go then.," I whispered in reply to no one, though I could still hear her heels clacking as they echoed more and more faintly down the empty hallway.

I laid back down on the crappy adjustable hospital bed for ten minutes just staring out the window at the adjacent brick wall. This was the first moment I'd had to truly begin to contemplate all that had happened. Someone had tried to kill me today and no one even believed me… Maybe I had lost my sanity… Is this what losing your grip on reality felt like? …I just couldn't make myself believe I'd lost it. No. That blond psycho girl was definitely there, and someone had called me down to the office specifically for her to kill me. Was Mrs. Critermon in on it?

…And maybe I was thinking about this all wrong. I took a deep breath and decided to look at this from every conceivable angle and possibility. …I mean, was there and _up_ side to being certifiable? How many days off from school did being labeled "bat shit crazy" yield anyway? ...One month? Two? Am I in the ballpark, anyone? …What can I say, I've always been a firm believer that every one of my mushroom clouds had a silver lining. (I simply think of myself as the quintessential "Pollyanna of the Morose"…and yes, it's a self-proclaimed title…what of it?)

Anyway, as I was seriously debating both sides of the sanity coin, an orderly came into my room and began changing the sheets of the other bed in my semi-private room. He coughed once and snagged my attention as he made eye contact with me, nodded once and gave me a non-committal version of a smile. My eyes wandered back to the one odd colored brick on the outside wall…it was like a brick version of "me." And I continued to wallow in self pity…until he coughed once more and looked straight at me.

"Everything ok over there?," he asked me with an unreadable expression.

"Uh…sure, guy," I told him as I warily checked the back-door of my gown to make sure all my bits were covered.

"...I must say, I'm quite relieved that she didn't actually hurt you," he said calmly with an unnatural gleam to his eyes, that (of course) I'd failed to notice.

"Nope, the nurse was pretty careful with that blood pressure thingy, but thanks for the concern…I guess.," I said with as much confidence as I could muster, laying in a paper-thin shroud. (For the record, I'm not at my best with the snappy come-backs while adorned in a too-short, mint green hospital gown. I mean, is anyone?)

"I wasn't referring to the nurse, Sorrow."

I'm sure my jaw must have dropped as I eyed the orderly. I really hadn't grasped his features that well when he first came into the room. But now? I was watching him like a hawk. I took note of his handsome, yet oddly angular features, his non-threatening posture, and ashy golden-brown hair complete with a set of intense blue/green eyes…and he couldn't have been older than 18. How had I missed all of this before, when he'd first entered the room?

"Stay like that and you're going to catch flies, you know.," he said with a smirk.

"Y-You have about three seconds before I scream 'rape.' Tell me who the hell YOU are, what the hell SHE was, and what either of you want with ME? …ONE, T-"

"-First off, threatening me is a moot point as I can vanish from human site just as easily as she did. If you want to have yourself placed that special locked unit on the 5th floor of this building, then by all means, scream away… Besides, you would only make Madeline's job that much easier, you know.," he said with a show of feigned dismay.

"Great, so you're not really here either?," I said with trepidation.

"Right now, yes, I'm entirely visible…but if you're going to do anything which would cause me trouble in the mortal world, I'll simply glamour myself to look like part of this wall."

"This is nuts…"

"Indeed. You're wasting precious time interrogating me, instead of asking the truly pertinent questions. I would advise you to think a bit more before you engage in speech."

"...You know, you're pretty pompous for a janitor! ...Fine, fine…Ok, let's say for the sake of argument, you're actually real and in my room. Fine. Who are you?"

"I'm Kabren, at your service, Milady.," he said as he bowed slightly.

"Kabren? …Interesting name. So, not that I'm doubting your credibility or anything, but exactly, how long have you been a _custodian_ here at the hospital?," I asked him dubiously.

"Including today? …About 10 minutes. So, are you ready to leave here?," he asked with a genuine smile.

And before I could reply, he ran both of his palms over my blankets. Immediately, my hospital gown was replaced with a pair of old jeans and my favorite faded grey "Deftones" hoody. I looked down to find I was even wearing my beater Chuck Taylor sneakers, complete with mismatched laces and chewed gum stuck to one heel…or at least, I certainly looked like I was.

I could still feel the stiff itchy nylon strings of the flimsy hospital gown digging into my back between me and the plastic pillowcases I was leaning against. ...And the idea of just ditching Mom and all this drama was just so tempting. I mean, hadn't I fantasized about doing that very thing every time I argued with her? …Which was to say, everyday…still…there was that useless, yet nagging sense of guilt...

"My Mother is around here somewhere. I can't just leave her here without her knowing where I am, she'd freak! ...Besides, you're psycho blond cheerleader friend, got me into an awful lot of trouble. Everyone thinks I'm either crazy or strung out. …Ya know, ...in case you didn't get the memo," I finished rather lamely, wilting under his intense gaze.

"This is, of course, exactly what Madeline wanted everyone close to you to think. It only serves to make your eventual 'suicide' that much easier to believe when the time comes…"

"MY WHAT?"

"She came here to kill you, Sorrow…"

"Kill me? Sorrow? …This is CRAZY! And what's with you _people_? My name isn't Sorrow!"

"Your human name is Sarah Bakerman, is it not?," the handsome custodian asked me with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Yes but-"

"-Then there is no mistake. Part of your _true_ name, the one that has been hidden from you until this time, is 'Sorrow.' You have a last name too, but you'd do well to keep it hidden from the Fae. 'To name a thing is to control it'…and she already has far more weapons at her disposal than you do at the moment."

"Wait, wait, wait. The Fae? As in fairies, like in storybooks? You _can't _be serious!…I-I think you need to back up at least forty sentences and start over again... And please explain anything even remotely related to the word "FAE," okay? …To be honest, this whole 'me being crazy' idea is beginning to sound a lot more _convincing_ than you are right now.," I said sarcastically to him as I scratched my back for the bazillionth time...

"Many Fae belong to Courts, each with a sole ruler. In this part of the world, there are only two Courts left. Both you and Madeline belong to that which is known as the 'Seelie' Court. And you are obligated to know that your ruler is dying. But to his credit, your King was clever. He knew that to rule without an heir was foolish. For without one, the Fae of his Kingdom would fight to claim the throne till the last standing. You see, Sorrow, many monarchs have fallen to ruin this way..."

("...This is sooo the most bazaar dream I've ever had," I thought to myself)

"...The King has ensured his kingdoms legacy by keeping five possible heirs around, dispersed at various locations, during these last remaining years of his rule. ...The King of the Seelie Court Fae is over one thousand years old, so you can imagine how diluted some of the bloodlines may have become. It has been said over the years, bordering legend, that the purest of his bloodline shall inherit the Kingdom and rule for another thousand…and the stronger the ruler, the greater the Kingdom. ...It seems only fair to disclose that of the five candidates, Madeline is the most pure, where as, you 'dear Sorrow' are the least…""

"...This is alot to take in. So, ...um, just to recap, 'Madeline' is that blond girl who stabbed me this morning?"

"Yes and that was a rather cheap trick…just a simple glamour and, as you can see for yourself, you're completely fine.," he said while waving his hands impatiently at my stomach.

"You call this, _me in a frickin' hospital bed_, fine? Everyone thinks I'm delusional!"

"Were I you, I would feel _grateful_ to be among the living."

"...And your _story_ doesn't make any sense! If what you said is true, and my blood is the least pure of the five_, _than why is she even _bothering_ with me? According to what you just said, that means I'm _weak _and no threat to her, right?"

"It's quite simple, Sorrow. You are all that remains between her and the crown. She has _already_ killed the others..."

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Author's Comments:

Please R&R ... :-)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - "Mindless Animals"

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All the teenagers, be them male or female, took notice of the new girl in school. She carried herself with a self-assurance that no one that age has any right to possess. It made her stand out like none other and invulnerable to scrutiny of any kind.

As she swaggered down the hall, she smiled in spite of herself, at how all eyes rested on her designer jeans and swayed in time to her hip movement. She knew they'd find her absolutely stunning when compared to the other mindless cattle that roamed this school. She smiled evilly at the resident popular girls who could only dream of having her amply perky cleavage and her unblemished porcelain skin. She eyed the most muscular boy of the group, the one with the would-be-otherwise-hot girls just hanging off of his shoulders, and winked seductively at him while pursing her lips. The boy bristled uncontrollably in his letterman jacket and found himself instinctively flexing for her.

"This is just too damn easy," she said to herself out loud while maintaining her perfectly dreamy smile.

The boy she'd flirted with was instantly charmed and quickly began brushing off his female pursuers so that the new girl would know that he was more than available for anything she had in mind for him.

"Babe, you and Angie need to back off and give a guy a little space. I'll see you in homeroom and we'll talk about prom later.," said Chris Codger (all-star track and field and local hometown hero two years running) to resident "IT-girl" Tracy Tanners.

"But Chris, you already promised we'd go last-," said Tracy his steady girlfriend for the past five months.

"-I SAID LATER!," Chris replied vehemently as he quickly grabbed a random text book and fled down the hallway towards the new beauty in town.

At this point, everyone in the crowded hallway was torn between watching the New Girl…or watching Tracy smear her eyeliner as her back remained pressed up against her locker while her hands feverishly rubbed her eyes in an effort to maintain her guise of "not crying." …Ultimately, most decided on watching the latest pair of designer skinny jeans and heels swagger up the hall until they came to a halt in front of locker 169.

As her perfectly manicured nails were about to grasp the padlock dial, a masculine palm flattened up against her locker and blocked her movement.

"You're the new girl, right?," Chris said as he attempted to flash his most winning smile at her.

"As it just so happens, Chris, I am.," she stated with a hint of sarcasm. Mission accomplished, he was thrown off-balance.

"My name is…Whoa there! Hey now, how'd you know my name?," he said while still smiling…like a hyena.

"Oh, I guess I must have heard it in the hallway on the way here. So, Chris, why don't you skip all this introduction nonsense and just tell me you want me…like I know you do. You never know, I might just say 'yes' and meet you in your parents bedroom after school. You'd just love that, wouldn't you, you mindless human animal," she said to him with an odd look in her eyes.

(What Chris and everyone else remembered hearing was entirely different, it went something like this, "My name is Madeline, but you may call me 'Maddy.' I'm new and a little confused as to how to get around the area. Why don't you drive me home from school today?")

Chris blinked a few times until the glazed look disappeared from his eyes, afterwards, he replied, "Okay, I'll meet you after school, can't wait!"

"…I'll just bet you can't.," Maddy said under her breath as she twisted the combination lock absentmindedly, having no real intention of ever opening it. After a few seconds she turned around, looking for other mischievous deeds and adventures to occupy her time until _**she**_ returned to school. For Maddy was most certainly assured that Sorrow would return…eventually.

As Maddy roamed the hallways, she spotted a formally dressed man in a blazer, eyeing her curvy body up and down as the crowded hallway began to clear out as students, begrudgingly, scattered off to homeroom before first bell. …As she heard the bell ring, the middle-aged teacher with the wandering eye stepped out into her path.

"Can I help you Miss…uh sorry, I don't think I caught your name? You must be the new student that everyone can't stop talking about."

"Please call me Maddy, Jonathon…uh Higgins, isn't it? And yes, I would be totally up for what you're thinking about right now, if there wasn't a _Mrs. Higgins and a 6 month old baby_ waiting for you at home. But I'll make you a promise Higgins: the next boy I get off? …I'll be thinking of you the entire time."

"W-What did you just say?," Higgins said as shock and outrage began to replace the friendly smile he displayed only mere moments before.

"I said 'no, I'm not lost, but thank you for offering to help me.'" she said as she swaggered away from the man in the elbow-patched corduroy blazer.

Maddy didn't bother to wipe his mind free of her words…she knew he was still thinking about them and savoring them. She also knew that he was the kind of teacher that had taken the innocence of no less than six teenage girls within the last two years…and now currently had his eye on her.

But Higgins was in for a shock if he thought Maddy would put out for an easy "A." Taking advantage of the weak impeded on HER domain, and she'd not allow Higgins to continue. Maddy made a mental note as she contemplated Higgins' fate….

* * *

Author's Comments:

Please R & R...

Thankyou for reading,

-nic :-)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - "Acceptance"

* * *

"W-WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY???," I said as shock and panic hit me like a Mack-truck.

"You know, you're not taking this as well as I'd hoped, Sorrow.," Kabren said with obvious regret.

"Well it's not everyday you find out someone wants to kill you. I mean, I'm nobody! ...This can't be happening. In what world is it possible that I'm on a hit-list of a person with supernatural powers. And who, oh-by-the-way, has MURDERED PEOPLE _BEFORE?!!"_

"Yes, three times she's killed, and that's not including the casualties along the way…"

"What casualties?"

"Well, there were injuries sustained by each victim's family members or friends who were, inadvertently, involved…oh, and a couple of beloved pets, respectively.," Kabren said with a nonchalance that was unnerving in and of itself.

"So, not only has this PSYCHO Fairy come to kill ME...she's going to hurt everyone else too? …WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO KABREN?!!"

"Sorrow, for the better part of an hour I've been trying to get to _that_-"

"-You _do_ realize that you've just handed me, and probably my family, a DEATH sentence, right? Just so we're clear? You act like I'm not supposed to freak out or something! And up and until an hour ago, I didn't know things like you existed."

"_THINGS?!! _...Lovely. *sigh* Truly, I was expecting too much from you. And now, having observed you during a period of stress, well…I don't much fancy our odds." Kabren said disgustedly as he eyed me up and down.

"You know, I don't _much fancy_ YOU, Kabren!," I said trying to stifle the tears that had been building within me for the past hour...and the puzzling thing was, I couldn't tell which bothered me more, my impending death...or the fact that my cowardice was disappointing him, "Look, I'm sorry, I guess I just don't handle things like _this_ very well. Okay, okay, I'm okay…is there anything else she's done you haven't told me about? ...You know, since we're on the subject and I'm _already_ about to pee myself!!," I said becoming more and more panicked with each passing second…truly, I'd about hit my limit…

"…Well, if you _must_ know, the Fae who've attempted to intervene and protect their wards were destroyed as well. ...However, given your current attitude regarding us, I doubt you'll find _that_ facet of truth to be particularly troubling.," Kabren said quietly with contempt.

"Stop judging me! Don't you get it, I'm the _VICTIM_ here!"

"-Yes, and from what I've surmised about you, it's a hat you wear far too often. …I think you're Mother is coming down the hallway. I can hear her footsteps and I can already smell the cigarette smoke.," he said disgusted, ...though it was hard to believe _more_ disgust from him was even possible.

"What? How would you…? …You barely even know _me_, so how could you possibly know her! And my Mother doesn't smoke. She quit more than five years ago.," I told him matter-of-factly. …After all, if I could prove he was wrong about one thing, perhaps I could prove he was wrong about _everything_.

"Well, if _you_ say she doesn't, then it must be so… The sooner you accept the truth of my words, Sorrow, the better off you and your family will be.," and with that, Kabren quickly pulled one of the hospital privacy curtains between us, blocking himself from my sight.

"What are you, like, four years old? I can still see your sneakers!," I said grabbing the curtain from in front of him and pulling it back…

But as I attempted the big reveal, he was gone. He'd completely vanished…everything but the size 11 orthopedic shoes. ...And as I hopped off my bed and looked under my non-existent neighbor's, my Mother strolled into the room.

"Should I even ask what it is you're doing _now_, Sarah? You know, if anyone were to walk in here, they'd get a great view of your undies…in particular, the ones I asked you to throw out over a month ago. *Tsk*…Look at those worn-out things, the elastic is gone and they're not even white anymore. I can only imagine what a total stranger would think of you, not to mention Me…"

I stood up abruptly and consciously breathed in the air as she walked towards me. ...Nothing, just the slightest hint of Altoid.

"Mom, were you smoking just now?," I asked her doubtfully.

"What? ..Uh, well. …Yes, but it was just a puff or two. It's been a very stressful day and I just needed it to calm down a bit. By the way, I'd appreciate it, if you wouldn't mention this to your step-Father."

Suddenly I had to accept the realization of Kabren's words. My mind had just been pried open with one trivial question answered by my Mother. I wasn't going crazy...my life, my beliefs, and whatever else I'd held dear were forever changed. Suddenly, the world around me seemed to grow exponentially larger and I felt naked and overwhelmed. I began to eye my Mother with trepidation. I began to sense that there was a very real chance I would lose her…forever. It never really dawned on me before, but she really was all I'd ever had. She was part of who I was and I couldn't imagine my life without her. My eyes began to tear up…

"I'm really scared, Mom…," I said as I walked up to her and hugged her as if it were the last time I would ever see her…and who knew? …Maybe it was.

* * *

~Meanwhile~

* * *

Maddy sat on the floor, surrounded by a menagerie of manila envelopes and folders. She laughed exquisitely as she poured over the school records and all of the secrets she now held over most of the student body…not to mention some very questionable behavior recorded within the past few years pertaining to some of the teachers and staff too.

"Naughty, Naughty Wendy Shapher,

......kissed the girl A-man-da Mayfair'

............…Wendy was the last Prom Queen,

....................…but now she is a Les-bi-an!

(Oh this is too easy by far…)

"Little Milton Templeton, had a cute puppy, will you look at him!

......…but his Mommy called to say it's gone

............And odds are Mil-ty is all wrong!

..................But lo' and behold the puppy is found!

.......................Drowned in his dog dish,

.............................Though Mom claimed the pound

...................................Now Milty is on medication

.........................................And hush, hush by administration!

.............................................…Until dog no.2 shows up dead at the school

...................................................…Now doesn't dear Mommy look like quite the fool!"

"Oh little Sorrow, guess what I know…

......You're nothing at school,

............Not a friend nor a foe,

...................I'll give you a notion, perhaps maybe a clue,

..........................In fact, I'll even be nice and give not one, but two!

................................It will start with a Fey

.......................................Not tomorrow, nor today…

.............................................You'll be lost to my world

...................................................…a fresh D.O.A. !!!!!!!!!!"

Maddy continued to peruse the information in rhyme until she had everything she could possibly use and then some. There wouldn't be anyone left to question her or stand in her way… Humans and their precious reputations were always her best weapons, and at this particular school, she had a veritable arsenal…

* * *

Te be cont....

Authors comments: PLease R & R! Your reviews and advice have been invaluable and I appreciate it immensely!!!

p.s. please forgive any mistakes in grammar...I'll (hopefully) have it all under control within the next day or 2...I edit these things myself and I don't always catch mistakes right away...thankyou for your patience with me on this... :-)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - "Broken"

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…How Mom managed to talk me out that hospital, early, I'll never know….

I took a good look around at my room. I couldn't get over the difference a few short hours made. Suddenly everything in my life seemed so small and insignificant…much like the meager possessions adorning my room. I sat on my bed and looked around the room wondering what strangers would make of me based on the contents within. I looked at my blue and red striped diary on the dresser…I had filled the first four days of pages religiously and, like most of my other would-be hobbies, abandoned it at the first hint of boredom.

…Besides, I soon discovered that I had nothing of any real importance to write about…no best friend, no boyfriend, no sports or extra-curricular activities of any kind. In fact, after jotting down my latest hopes and dreams once I graduated, there really wasn't anything more to say…

I also found that once I'd poured my heart out on the blank pages, I'd had little energy left inside for much else. Writing it all down made it seem more real, and 'reality' was downright depressing…and after that realization, I'd made my first attempt at suicide.

It wasn't really a committed effort as I'd downed only two of the twenty aspirin in my hand and found that my gag reflex was the only deterrent I'd needed. …Seems I was even a quitter at quitting. Also, not surprisingly, the inner anger and pain I'd grown to live with on a daily basis, had not dulled in the slightest by the generic remedy. Go figure…another failure. ...Months after that first try, subsequent attempts at off-ing myself were tried and aborted…still, each attempt I made was growing more daring and more imaginative than the last.

…And now that someone had set her mind out to kill me and beat me to the punch, I found myself inexplicably clinging to the sad little excuse for a life that I had. ...Admittedly, I may not have accomplished much within the few years I've been on this planet, but still...this was MY life and how DARE she try and take it from me! ...But, I was only human...how could I possibly stop her, what weapons did _I_ possess?

I stared into a different corner of my room at the closet full of old toys. I was certain, if tested, I'd have been positive for Attention Deficit Disorder as all the toys were left to rot in the closet within days of having received them. Looking it all over from a distance, I'd found myself with a huge collection of Christmas and Birthday presents of years passed. Despite my behavior, I'd often gotten whatever trendy had-to-have-it item that I'd requested at the time. The latest fad or toy craze lingered, lonely and forgotten, within the small closet. Still, most of it was broken and junky, …best left for a time capsule, really.

I always found myself taking things apart and seeing if I could put them back together…it was a sick and twisted game that often ended with the shaved head of a Barbie doll, a roller skate with a wheel missing, or a purposely lost piece to a Lego set. …I often sabotaged those make-it-yourself-toys so that the fancy picture on the box could _never _again be recreated.

I never quite got that about myself…where did the need come to destroy the few personal affects I received? It was odd, my parents certainly were not rich, and it's not as if my things would ever be replaced once it was discovered they were beyond repair, or that _I _was the one who made them so. …So why did I do it? I honestly couldn't tell you.

…It wasn't only toys either…most of my clothes had holes and stains in them as well. I couldn't count the number of times I'd run a black marker over my white t-shirts, or the times I'd stabbed holes through my best jeans with a newly sharpened pencil…what the hell was wrong with me anyway? It seems as though there's always been something about me that will only tolerate having things around me that are flawed in some way…

I've always known I was damaged and broken. Unhappiness has been my constant and only companion for as far back as I can remember. But now, _given my unusual birthright_, maybe this was just the way I was designed. Maybe I was simply wired to do exactly what I'd always done…destroy. Perhaps taking out my frustrations on whatever happened to be closest to me was instinctive. Could it be that destroying the material objects around me just came naturally based on who I really was?

Still, looking around this sad and lonely room, I knew that when Maddy came to kill me, nobody would ever question why it happened. …All anyone would have to do is look around this room (not to mention todays hospital visit) and they'd immediately assume madness and suicide…the proof was all right here in front of me… Even the fleeting hope that I could somehow clean this place up and create a different façade seemed futile. Deep down, I knew it would take more than one night to create a seemingly happy childhood out of over 10 years worth of accumulated macabre memorabilia.

"This is such a lost cause…," I said to no one…hopelessly.

"One would certainly think so with the way you carry on in here-.," Kabren said softly as he crawled in through the window that had been closed and locked only moments before.

"-JESUS!!!," I gasped breathlessly as I held onto my chest and willed my heart rate back to a normal sinus rhythm.

Kabren was wearing brown leggings of some sort, tall knee-length riding boots, and a rather billowy looking muted-black top with a drawstring along the neckline. He reminded me of a bawdy pirate on the cover of one of my Mother's romance novels. And his hair was a long, bluish-black hue, and rather wispy along his pale jaw line. He wore it tied back with a piece of…baling twine? He looked like he stepped out a story book…and so very out of the modern loop, fashion-wise. And, as if he'd read my thoughts, his clothing became blurry and then shifted into black faded jeans, a faded black vintage rock band t-shirt, and beat up looking Vans….in other words, a _male_ version of the way I was dressed.

"H-How did you do that?," I asked him while still trying to control the fear in my voice.

"It's ridiculously simple, as you've an easy mind to read. Your eyes just give _everything_ about you away. …Speaking of which, we really need to work on that, if you're going to even attempt to survive this ordeal," he said, not bothering to hide our slim chances nor his judgment from his tone.

"You don't like me much, do you?," I asked waiting for confirmation of what I already suspected.

"Let's just say, if I continue to help you, it'll most likely be the death of me, " he said with contempt, "…However, in light of recent events, I'm not entirely sure that death isn't preferable to my current plight.," he said while not meeting my eyes, though his voice did seem to soften ever so slightly.

"…So then, you really _don't like _me? …Then explain why the hell you are even bothering to try and help me?," I asked him vehemently.

"I'm trying to avoid my fate. Letting Madeline destroy you would be the equivalent of accepting the situation as it is…and I refuse to do that.," he said through gritted teeth.

"And what, exactly, is the _situation_ if you don't help me?"

"I don't intend to tell you. It would only complicate matters further."

"Fine, whatever, keep me in the dark. ...Don't think I'm not already used to it."

"So, is feeling sorry for yourself your only defense when you have to deal with a problem?"

"Don't psychoanalyze me. Trust me, I know more about psychology than any kid should have any right to know. And no guy who normally wears frickin' _tights_ has the right to lecture any_one_ on any_thing_, much less DEFENSE mechanisms!", I yelled back.

"So it seems our dear Sorrow, _savior _of the Fae, is a poet and a scholar, who knew?" he said sarcastically, though with a hint of renewed interest.

"Oh like you're any prize pig yourself there, _Lancelot_!"

"Did…Did you just call me a 'pig?' Oh now, that is priceless, what with the chewed gum collection under your mattress! Remind me to introduce you to Eaddrek, he simply loves vulgar human behavior. …And you seem to have a mastery of it. Tell me, where does a teenage girl learn to be like this??"

"Listen, whatever you might think about me, I could be as refined as _you_ if I wanted to be-"

"-Really? Do tell…"

"Fine! Did you know that when I first got into high school, there was this college 'upward-bound' program designed for students with 'potential' and out of dozens of applicants, _I_ got in!," I said with false pride.

"So then, tell me Sorrow, where did it all go wrong? Where did all this confidence and insight you _had_ go?," he said with genuine interest…I guess that's what unnerved me and what made me tell him the rest.

"…The program paid us minimum wage while we tagged alongside a professional in whatever field of interest we chose. At the time, I thought being a shrink sounded good. If all went well, I'd have saved enough money to buy a car someday. …The only problem was, the middle-aged freak they paired me up with tried to feel me up after three weeks…most of which he spent trying to 'get through the emotional layers of my onion exterior.'"

"So, you were molested by this man?," Kabren asked me, obviously angered, which seemed strange, given that he all but admitted to hating me.

"Nope, though I guess things could have gone that way if I wasn't as willful a person as I am. …I told my peer counselor what went down with that guy the day after the incident happened. …Ya see, the only reason he stopped was because they immediately threw _me_ out of the program."

"How severe, what did your superiors do to _him_?"

"As far as I know, nothing. …They all just sent me on my way and mailed me a check for the three weeks I was there. …And to add insult to injury, it was only a fraction of what I'd been promised. They even had a lawyer call my Mother at work to tell her that we could lose our house in a suit for "defamation" if any of this ever made it to the local news…or if it could be proven that I'd said anything about the incident again."

"Still, this all makes little sense to me… Why was your peer counselor so quick to denounce you?"

"Apparently, hours before _I_ told her what happened, that _pervert_ went off and told her his own version. He claimed that I'd asked him for the '_money up front_', if you catch my drift. …My Mom believed me, but she was the only one. Even my step-Father, Steve, had his doubts…"

"It sounds like you've experienced a lot of disappointment from the people in your life so far, Sorrow. It's ironic, Sorrow, that your namesake and birthright comes to you freely, yet not without cost…," he said as he peered down at my threadbare bubblegum-pink area rug.

"Like I said before, my name isn't Sorrow…can't you just call me 'Sarah?' Would it kill you or something?"

"Kill, no…but it would sicken me, most assuredly.," he said uncomfortably.

"Why?"

"The Fae are unable to speak that which is not based in truth. I already know that part of your true name is 'Sorrow,' therefore, asking me to call you by anything else is an impossibility for me. If I'm forced to utter your human name, without putting it in context, I'll become ill and be of little use to you when the time comes.," he said matter-of-factly.

"This is bananas! You told me earlier that 'I' am part Fae, and I'll have you know I lie on a regular basis. I pretty much have to, daily, whenever my Mom asks me how my day was at school! So, tell me, how does any of _that_ make sense if what you just said is true?"

"You are unique because you haven't turned into one of us, yet."

"Yet? You mean I could become like you? How?"

"Your King yet lives…it is _still_ within his means to anoint you. …It is not without ceremony and a great deal of risk to you, but certainly, it is a possibility. In fact, if you're to stand any chance against Madeline, this may well be your _only_ possibility."

I began to look down at the frayed rug too…we had a lot in common, that rug and I…it, too, was the product of abuse and ill caring. …Just the mere glimpse of a _possibility_ of becoming inundated with abilities similar to the Fae fascinated me. Suddenly, my current state of despair was turned on its' ear.

If I could get my grubby hands on even a fraction of the kind of power that Maddy and Kabren possessed, I could cripple anyone who ever dared to hurt me again. The possibilities were endless, I could glamour myself anyway I wanted and be the most beautiful and (as I stared at my pitiful A-cups) most _bountiful_ girl in the entire school. There wouldn't be anything or anyone that I couldn't have. …Though, even having just thought it up, somehow charming any boy at school didn't seem quite as appealing as it had been before Kabren showed up…hmm, I wonder what's up with that?

"You're awfully calm and quiet for someone who has just been told they will, most likely, have to become a different species in order to survive. What are you thinking about?," he asked as he caught the intense look of concentration on my face.

"I don't intend to tell you, it would only complicate matters further.," I said as a devilish smile began to form at the corners of my mouth.

* * *

To be cont....PLEASE R & R IF YOU LIKED IT....(thankyou - in advance) :-)

* * *

Reviews and advice are invaluable to me and I appreciate it all immensely!!!

p.s. please forgive any mistakes in grammar...hopefully, I'll have it all under control within the next day or 2......thankyou for your patience with me on this... :-)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - "One lonely Night"

* * *

(Time flew by as I listened to Kabren attempt to explain everything... I stared into his eyes and gave him my undivided attention. I had no idea he was observing _me_ just as much as I was _him _until...)

"I find it a bit unnerving that you've, quite suddenly, gone from being an obstinate bore to utter compliancy in a matter of minutes… Tell me, why the sudden change of heart?, " he asked rather skeptically.

"You said my life depended upon my becoming one of you. Well, I figured, why fight it? …Besides, it's not like I _want_ to go back to school and face everyone thinking I've lost my mind. …And you just _know_ things are really bad when even my _Mother_ won't give me a hard time about ditching…," I said truthfully.

"Won't leaving be difficult with her around?," Kabren said with a warning tone.

"Nope. She's going to work tomorrow. Not a shock really, she did _bang_ off today on account of me. She has a hard job with an _asshole_ boss, …and I kinda doubt the 'my-kid-is-having-mental-problems' excuse would fly two days in a row… It's not like my name is in the obituaries or anything."

"Well, it's probably best she'll be gone. I wouldn't want to have to glamour _her_. …Who's to say she doesn't have small traces of the Seelie bloodline…though in her, they've obviously remained quite dormant.," he said, though it seemed as though he was talking more out loud to himself than to me.

"Yeah, um…about that whole bloodline thing? Now that I've had a little time to digest things, I really don't think it's too cool that this King took advantage of my Mom while she was married to my Father, ya know. …That's kind of a-million shades of _wrong_.," I said more to myself than to him.

"*sigh* The things you come up with…don't be _ridiculous_, Sorrow!," Kabren said with a mixture of humor and condescension.

"Then I'm confused, how am I related to the King?!!," I said with surprise.

"Who knows? Your King has been having members of his court insert changeling descendants into human families for centuries…perhaps as far back as 900 years and as recently as the last seventy. Who can say how far back _your_ original descendant goes? …It's a trifling matter that truly shouldn't concern you.," he said with a nonchalance that angered me.

"Well, it might not matter to you! You're used to all this craziness! Me? I'm still playing catch-up from what you told me back in the hospital! Would it be too much to ask you to explain something as important as _this_ in a way that I can understand for a change?!! …Kabren, please, just tell me how I'm related to the King, which is pretty much the '_WHY_' of this whole mess, don't cha'think?!!"

"*sigh* If it _pleases_ you, Sorrow. …First, you ought to realize that if you're the weakest of the bloodline, it's reasonable to assume that you're blood is very diluted in comparison to that of the King. …If one had to make a guess, one could assume the changeling in your line stems back at least a couple of centuries, as I can barely detect the scent about you-"

"-I have a _scent_? I smell?!!…Oh, wait…that kinda makes sense. That's what that faerie girl said to me, something about me 'stinking up the place.' So, that's how she knew who I was, an odor I give off that I can't smell?," I asked hopefully, finally beginning to make some semblance of sense from the nightmare.

"No. It doesn't explain all of it. Madeline was hundreds of miles away from this town. There was no possibility of her knowing of your presence from an odor. Besides, the weak strain of Fae within your bloodline barely gives you any aura at all. You would easily be indistinguishable from, say, a hob or nymph that flit about these mortal lands from time to time. A Seelie Court subject would never even look twice in your direction, I assure you."

"…So, how did she find me, Kabren?"

"How, indeed. …The knights who protected the five knew only of their own wards, respectively. By all accounts, Madeline should not have been able to find you regardless of how many of the Fae she'd seduced or tortured.," Kabren said deep in thought, "One would guess that there is a group of malcontents within the Seelie Court who wish to see her wear the crown. Though, to what end that would play? I cannot say. …Though, I can quite guarantee that once a crown is placed upon her obstinate head, she'd rather die (and take all of us along with her) than relinquish it…"

"Why do I get the impression that you're as _afraid_ of her as I am?," I said astutely, before realizing I should have kept that particular comment to myself.

Kabren eyed me intensely with a severe, inhuman gaze. It made me shiver involuntarily. …Though, I had to admit, there was a cold beauty to him…still, it was a stare that an angel might give to an enemy before smiting it. I, instinctively, looked down at the floor as I felt my face redden in shame, …though I couldn't quite wrap my mind around _what_, exactly, I'd said wrong…

"My help is given freely to you, Sorrow, as we've a common enemy. Give some thought to your choice of words before you speak them…as you cannot afford to pay the price of my services otherwise…," he spoke to me softly, though the gentleness was lost on the implication of his words…and his sudden cruel threat of abandonment seemed to make his inhuman features that much more frightening and real.

It was at this point I began to question Kabren's motives. Perhaps my would-be hero had his own agenda? Perhaps his helping me was merely a means to an end for him. Was Maddy my _only_ adversary? Was Kabren truly on my side or was he as opportunistic as she was? …After all, there was an entire Kingdom at stake, …what was in it for Kabren? …Still, something intuitively told me that now was not the time to get the answers to those questions. It was damage control time, and he had a point, right now I needed him far more than he needed me.

"…I'm sorry, Kabren. You're right, I shouldn't have said that. Look, I'm just nervous about where I'm going tomorrow. You said it's dangerous, I mean, what if I never come back?," I said with sincerity, after all, it was completely true.

"I'll be your guide, and few in the Seelie Realm would dare to tangle with me or mine. You should rest, you'll need your strength for tomorrow, try not to dwell on things. …I highly doubt things could become _worse_ for you than they already are.," he said dispassionately, before exiting my room back out the window through which he came…

….

….

…2 AM…Lying wide awake in my bed. A cold sweat poured over me, what in hell had I just agreed to?!! I could hear the neighbor dog barking outside for a few minutes before the sound was cut off abruptly. I quickly focused on the window on the opposite side of my room. …The sudden lack of background noise forced me to sit upright as an eerie quiet descended all around me. After a minute or two, I laid back down in a fetal position under the blankets which I held tightly around myself.

…Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I peered out from the make-shift blanket-hole and watched the night-light illuminated slender black arms of my vintage Mickey Mouse alarm clock slowly pivot and click into place with every passing second...and then I began to hear the high pitched squeals of laughter coming from just outside that window.

I got out of bed in the dark and cautiously crept to my window, keeping my head ducked far below the frame… I slid down the wall closest to the window and watched the strange shadows play off the adjacent wall from the dull glow of the neighbor's porch light. There looked be two creatures sitting just outside, one short blob with what appeared to be a bushy beard, the other was more humanoid and slender…and its' shadow gave the distinct impression of _wings?!!_

"*cackle* Hee hee! Look at all the lights they've brought out! And look, look! You see how they _call _for it?," the high-pitched voice squeaked in delight.

It was then that I heard Mrs. Johnson, from next door, yell out of her front door…(you could tell she had been drinking as the dog's name was slurred as she called it),

"Duuuukey! Here boy! …Duke? DUKE!! …That's fine Duke, you stupid animal, stay out all night long chasing rabbits…I could care less! (…Earl, your damn dog's gone AWOL again! …Yeah? Well then, YOU can come stand here all night yelling for him! I've got better things to do! ...I DO SO! I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME OF SOLITARE!)"

When our neighbor had gone back into the sanctuary of her home, the creatures perched outside my window howled with laughter.

"Human _fools_! …Even gave the beast a _name_, they did!"

"…Did them a favor, we did! That mongrel was riddled with fleas and rot! *p-tooy*," the second creature mumbled back in a garbled tone as it spit something from its' mouth off of my rooftop and onto the lawn far below.

"Shh…you wake that child up and we both get the smite before we ever get the chance to see im' rule!"

"You _shush_ yourself! You're bein' louder an' me, Hurr, you bottle-nosed dockle!"

"Leave it to a _WISP _like you_, _Eadrek,to go and eat the best meats and leave the blame to ole' Hurr! Skewer yer fanny raw, I will!," the bulbous bearded blob chided back, "What's inside the head was the _only_ part I said I wanted in the first place. You only asked for the tail! Twas _I _who made the kill, you ingrate! I could have sat here simply listening to the beast's piercing yelps all night long, wouldn'tuh bothered me none!"

"Next time, Hurr, I'll just let the yowling continue till your damn ears bleed and fall off! ...I'm movin' back to the other rooftop, we can see er' fine from there! I'm not dying to prove a point to the likes of _you_!," Eadrek said to Hurr with contempt.

"Well, if yer leaving, than so am I!," the other said indignantly.

And then, the voices were just …gone.

It took me a moment to recognize where I'd heard the name "Eadrek." …Kabren had mentioned this name, almost as though referencing a …friend? But what were the creatures doing outside of _my_ window?

And that's when it dawned on me…Sentries. Kabren must have posted them as guards. That was why he'd left me quite suddenly all of those times. No wonder he never seemed even remotely worried about me. It all made perfect sense now…I had protection in the form of his guards….which only made me wonder even more who Kabren really was and what he was really after. I mean, was he so important in the Fae world that he actually had troops in his employ?? …And then there was the fact that he had never said a word to me about having them. Why not? Was he protecting me from Maddy? …Or was I his unwitting prisoner?

And as I looked out the window, I had to bite my tongue not to scream. There, lying just below my window on our lawn, was the severed head of our neighbor's Doberman. It's eyes were still open…it almost looked as if they were staring right up at me…accusing me.

Suddenly, I realized with dread, that the adrenaline rush I'd had from the thoughts of attaining inhuman power…had blinded me to reality. The site of Duke's black severed head thrown carelessly on our lawn had completely sobered me… The dangerous creatures posed as guards for _my_ protection had cost my neighbors their beloved pet…and for what?!! …Taking the life of this animal had been nothing more or less than a passing faerie amusement. …I was forced to come to terms with the fact that I'd put myself, and anyone else around me, in danger…and as long as I remained where I was, no one around me was safe....

* * *

(...To be cont.)

* * *

...Author's comments: ...and if you liked it, **please let me know**.

p.s. spelling and grammar should be fixed within the next day or two (thankyou for your patience)

-nic :-)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - "One lonely Knight"

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...(the following afternoon)...

A calculating smile formed on her lips, as he watched her eye the human children one by one. He could see her lips curl further, ever so slightly, as she be-spelled each one of their minds and picked them clean of anything she deemed noteworthy. He was casual in his approach, a guise of a teacher, a harmless educator merely checking up on a particularly truant pupil…

"Honestly, Lantus, you've absolutely no talent for spying…," she called out to him, though her gaze never left the scores of adolescents littering the gymnasium.

The gangly brown-haired instructor towered over the nubile girl as she lounged casually along the bleachers. He picked out a spot that was a respectable distance away as he whispered,

"Tis true, I've about as much talent as spying as you have for acclimatizing here without making a spectacle of yourself…," Lantus said with derision.

"Oh, come now, it wasn't that long ago, you found my pranks on humans to be quite charming," she finished with a merciless smile.

"I will not rise to your quips, Madeline. …Much has changed about you, as of late. I fail to see the point of taunting them…these innocent people have done nothing to warrant your cruelty.," he said with regret.

"Stop sniveling over them!-"

"-Come now, my Queen, you know what he's like…," said a burly gym teacher, as he rhythmically twirled a metallic whistle around his fingers, "Do not take such feeble bate. After all, was it not your cunning that swayed him to join us? Was it not your ploy that bade him to barter his name in exchange for a mercifully quick death of his precious little 'Joy-,' "

"DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME AS THOUGH SHE MEANT NOTHING, GRADREL-," Lantus yelled-

The gymnasium went silent as the students turned to stare at the odd trio. Maddy stood up, clearing her throat, as she radiated power throughout her body…and grabbed everyone's attention at once…

"For all who see us, all who stare, avert your eyes,…be unaware…," she decreed in a flourish, ending with a high spirited laugh...and every human in the room resumed their activities as though nothing had happened.

"You're improving every day, my Sweet," Gradrel praised.

"…And you reward her with the blood of children. I would cut my heart from my breast if it made you less of my kin!," Lantus seethed.

"You brought this upon yourself, my Brother. Twas it not that same foolish heart of yours that sold your true-name to our mistress? …And for what price? A mercifully quick death for your ward, your love. …Do not blame me for your foolish choices, tis not my fault she is long dead while you are forever-," Gradrel replied callously.

"-Mine," Maddy chimed, "…So, now that we've cleared that up, why don't you be a dear, and bring me the girl called Tanners. …I have some time to kill before Sorrow returns…," Maddy bade him as her eyes crackled with pure malice.

And so, Lantus Engrarian McMorrent, changed his appearance to the burly gym teacher, as he left the two on the bleachers, to claim the depressed girl in the pink-striped boy-shorts. ...Tracy was still fuming over her breakup with Chris.

"…And what just KILLS ME, is that he dumped me right before PROM!"

She jumped several inches as the gym instructor tapped her left shoulder.

"TANNERS! DENTION, TODAY, AFTER SCHOOL FOR TALKING IN MY CLASS!!," the imposter yelled at the top of his lungs. Lantus had made a dead-on impression of the real Gym teacher…who was currently out in his car in the faculty parking lot, listening to the same cd over and over again.

"Y-Yes Mr. Korbel, I'm sorry. I-I can't!! …Please, Mr. Korbel, not today! I was supposed to go to the Bridal shop with my Mother and pick out a gown for prom-"

"Oh? You needn't worry…I, somehow, doubt you'll be needing one…," the fake Mr. Korbel said sadly as he walked back toward the bleachers.

("Psst, Tracy, forget about that! Blow off detention and go anyway! I would," Angie whispered.)

(Were I you, child, I would take your friend's advice…), Lantus thought miserably…

Although it had been decades since that night, every human girl continued to remind him of his loss. …He had given everything to spare his beloved "Joy," the torment of Madeline and her minions. He was beaten and held in bondage by his Brother while the monster's pitiless servants burned away layer upon layer of her fragile mortal flesh.

…Why? …Because he had refused to join their ranks and kill the girl himself. …And, finally, when he could bear her suffering cries no more…

(Please, I pray, allow a trade. I am the one who you seek to punish! The girl has done nothing!)

(You'll find, I can be reasoned with…for a price. Give me your name.)

(Lantus…)

(-Just Lantus?!! Do not take me for a fool! You know what I want! …No? Fine then. …Gradrel, strip the flesh off that girl's _other_ leg-)

(NO! I BEG YOU-)

(-THEN GIVE ME YOUR _FULL_ NAME!)

…And so, Lantus gave up all that he was…in order to grant the mortal "Joy" peace…and the sweet release of death.

(…My Beautiful, Joy…I died the same day _you_ did. We were in each other's arms, you closed your eyes, and then your breathing slowed to naught. …I pray that you have passed on and are now with your God…of whom you often spoke of. I pray that you are far removed from all the violence and wickedness I have wrought…)

And from the bleachers…two sets of eyes watched the gymnastics instructor shrewdly.

"When I become queen, I'm ridding myself of that fool, once and for all!"

"…There, there, Dearest, he serves you well, does he not?" Gradrel cooed to his future ruler.

"…He's makes me feel…useless human emotions. Lantus is pathetic! He's more human than that brat he cared for ever was!," Maddy spat with disgust.

"…Such venom from one who was once completely hum-"

"-DON'T SAY IT, GRADREL! I will soon rule and I've a long memory for those who displease me…," Maddy spewed with hatred as Tracy Tanners made her way to the girls locker room, "Now, leave me! …And take that fool with you!"

As Gradrel made his exit, with Lantus securely in tow, he smirked slightly as he watched his Mistress slip unseen into the locker area. …He didn't know or care what grudge she'd had against the defenseless human girl…it mattered not, for he knew that wherever Madeline went, mayhem was sure to follow…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
(...To be cont.)

Author's Comments

PLEASE R & R IF YOU LIKED IT :-)

-nic :-)

Reviews and advice are invaluable to me and I appreciate it all immensely!!!

p.s. please forgive any mistakes in grammar...hopefully, I'll have it all under control within the next day or 2......thankyou for your patience with me on this... :-)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - "A _Sick_ Day"

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So here I am at 9:15 AM… Waiting, waiting, and watching the kitchen clock tick the minutes away. …Did I fail to mention how much I hate waiting? …Well, I _do_…and with a passion. Every damn minute that ticks by is a minute closer I am to abandoning myself, and my humanity. …Though after last night, I'm more afraid than excited.

Kabren and his minions have me fearing for my very life. What if I'd been discovered spying on them last night? What would they have done to me? Somehow I doubted that they'd have sent me back to sleep with a smile and a sprinkle of fairy dust.

These were not _those_ kind of fairies. These were the kind that delighted in torment sprinkled with the blood of humans and their respective familiars. These were the kind of devils that I'd thrown my lot in with.

How had my life unraveled so completely in the span of a mere day? …I was now the unwitting target of some power hungry psycho, I'd aligned myself with a questionable magical associate and his homicidal posse, and did I fail to mention that I was now an accessory to the murder of my neighbor's beloved pet? …In short, I had never been more screwed.

I looked back up at the clock once more, …9:17 AM. Fabulous. Here I was, some lowly girl waiting for some older, good-looking guy to come a' callin.' How friggin' cliché. I wished that Kabren would just get here and get this all over and done with. …My fingers began absentmindedly picking at the frayed wicker of the worn-out chair I was occupying.

*OUCH*

Great, a splinter underneath my thumbnail. Serves me right, for wishing, I suppose. Still, the timing couldn't be worse. …Nothing like strolling through the woods, thick with blood-thirsty monsters, while sporting a pool of dried blood caked beneath my fingernails. Why don't I just go swim with some sharks while I'm at it? And then I jumped as-

"-Well now Sorrow, by the expression on your face, one would think I'd left you at the alter?" Kabren said, startling me once again by seemingly appearing from out of no where.

"…Yeah right," I said, recovering quickly, "…like I'd marry a _fairy." (_I made sure to poignantly emphasize the double entendre.)

"Well, maybe you'll fail the trials and save your would-be suitor the effort, hmm?" Kabren said in the same tone I'd used on him…leaving me to wonder whether he'd gotten my jibe or had simply chosen to fore-go deciphering my human euphemisms altogether.

"…Whatever. Anyway, I packed a bag and left it under my bed, so Mom wouldn't find it. I only packed the basics, a little survival junk food and $22.00 of babysitting money. Um, do you think I should pack a change of clothes or a dress for when I meet the King?"

"Trust me, Sorrow," Kabren snorted, "one could dress in the finery of the Unseelie Queen herself, and still _fail_ to impress that which is your Sovereign. …Regardless, the journey is lengthy and we've already a late start to the day. Come," he stated with a sense of finality, exiting through the screen door leading off our back porch.

I dashed upstairs and grabbed my bag, along with an inordinate amount of dust bunnies, and ran out of the door…pausing just long enough to lock up. Kabren was already far ahead of me as he made his way across the cornfield behind our house.

"Geez, will you wait up? I told you I had to grab the stupid bag!," I yelled out breathlessly, trying my best to catch up…damn it, he was fast.

"And I told _you_, we are running late as it is! The nearest portal is several miles from here."

"And what, we're _walking_ the whole way there?"

"You see that heavily wooded area off in the distance?," he asked as he looked off toward the horizon.

"Yes, but those woods are closer to 'Beacon' than to here… You're old enough to drive, right? Tell me again why we couldn't take a car?"

"There are several reasons why. The most important of which is that I don't own one. I, along with the rest of my kind, cannot tolerate most man-made materials for very long, especially those predominantly made of metal and iron."

"And this is _my_ problem because…?"

"Oh, do take note, Sorrow. Soon, the elemental rules of survival that apply to the Fae, will soon apply to _you _as well. Also, the area we are headed towards has no roads. There are wards protecting it against humans and their insidious need for over-development."

"And just what are 'wards?'"

"Compulsions, spells, charms…whichever word you deign to use. In any case, a human on the receiving end of such an aura would be disinclined to remain in the area protected by the ward. …Oh stop looking at me like that, it's nothing permanent or damaging. The said person would simply feel a strong need to suddenly be elsewhere."

The more I learned about the abilities of the Fae, the more I realized how completely unprepared I was to venture into _their_ territory. And for the remainder of the brisk walk, I stayed quiet…and allowed my worst fears to consume me. Kabren must have been deep in thought as well, though he seemed to be enjoying the walk…or perhaps just the respite from our conversation.

…It wasn't long before I was all but out of breath. We were now surrounded by gnarly looking trees that cast unfriendly shadows, despite the grey overcast sky above us. I was sweating profusely. The backpack of useless crap I'd packed might have only weighed a mere 3 or 4 pounds, but it currently felt like a dead elephant. …After the fifth time I stumbled over a tree root, I took a brief moment to glance at my beat-up army wrist-watch. It was already 12:35. We'd been walking for almost 3 hours straight. My feet were killing me. My chucks weren't meant for extreme conditions like this. I looked away from my watch just in time to save myself from running head first into Kabren's backside.

"W-Why'd we stop?"

"Shh…," he whispered as he focused on a particularly large maple that seemed to inexplicably appear out of thin air, amongst the otherwise, heavy brush and pines all around us. Everything in the woods was so dark, I was amazed he'd known where to look. The normal looking foliage all but obscured the soft light of day.

Kabren placed his hands on a knot at the center of the maple trunk. He then closed his eyes and breathed out slowly…before turning around and focusing on me, for some odd reason.

"Well, I suppose there's no use putting this off any longer. Sorrow, take off your backpack and come closer to me."

Maybe it was all the things I'd witnessed last night, maybe it was the way he'd just spoken to me like he owned me, but _something_ about the way he was eyeing me right now made me leery of approaching him. I hesitated…and he must have noticed because suddenly, he'd spanned the distance between us and was peeling the bag away from my shoulders.

"What are you do-"

-His fingers were suddenly threading their way through my hair and along my scalp, twisting and turning till he had a firm hold of me. Then, just as suddenly, he extricated his hand away from my head, taking with him about half a dozen strands of my hair…which hurt like hell as he wasn't exactly gentle about it.

"Oww! Get off of me!" I screamed, before falling to the ground, butt-first.

"My apologies, Dear, but some local custom's must be observed, …especially in _these_ lands," he said while scrutinizing my hair strands, still tangled up in his fingers.

To my surprise, he opened up his palm and let all of my split ends fall to the ground. All but one, that is. He took the lone strand and wrapped it around his index finger at least five times. He then made a fist until the strand broke. And from where it snapped, it drew a single drop of Kabren's blood. He then looked down at me and offered me the hand he'd just cut, as if to help me up off the ground.

I looked up at him, my mouth, a thin hard line fixed across my face in protest. When I failed to take his outstretched hand, he made a grab for my wrist and yanked me to my feet. I yelped a bit as I stood on my own, awkwardly, while looking at the smear of blood he'd left behind on my arm.

"Eww, gross!" I said as I tried wiping it off on my jeans, he only shook his head and smirked.

"I'm afraid you'll find that that isn't likely to wash away…"

To disprove his theory, I reached inside my back-pack and grabbed the half-bottle of leftover orange soda. I poured the contents onto my arm, letting the sickly-sweet carbonated liquid wash over the bloodstain. I then rubbed the spot as hard as possible against the abrasive canvas material lining my backpack. I rubbed and rubbed until my skin was red and raw from abuse…

"Why isn't this coming off ?," I demanded.

"It is a sad, but well-known fact, that humans have a mastery of deception. You can lie, where as, we cannot. Therefore, to ensure your unquestionable loyalty, I had to mark you."

"What does this mean?," I said as I held my blood-stained arm up to him with revulsion.

"You are now bound to me and unable to tell the human world anything about me or the existence of the Fae. Any attempt will cause you extreme discomfort until you abandon the idea."

"Y-You put a spell on me?"

"It's a very basic curse, …hardly worth my time to do it, really."

"What the hell, Kabren? You actually _cursed_ me? Why? Because you think I would bother to tell anyone? Who, in their right mind, would even believe me at this point?"

"You're missing the point, Sorrow. You're human and cannot be allowed into Faery, otherwise. We're an ancient race that have remained hidden from the human world for thousands of years. Our 'spells,' as you call them, have allowed us this anonymity."

"Well, call me crazy, but I seriously thought that you bringing me here meant that you _trusted_ me!"

"Try and wrap your human mind around this: you are about to cross over into a different realm and you have no idea what lies beyond. So, for your own well-being, you need to listen and do exactly as I say. If I ask you to do something, you _must _do it, no questions asked. …What I did to you was necessary, your life depended upon it. So, just accept what I do or the journey stops here."

"…So, me smeared in blood is non-negotiable?" I asked sarcastically…though I knew Kabren had me over a barrel and he knew it. …Still, I'd already come this far, what was one more indignity?

"Now, you're catching on.," he said with exasperation, "Look, the simple truth is, without that mark they'd kill you on sight."

"So, what, this is like a human _leash_?," I said, accidentally dropping my backpack on the pine-needled ground.

"I wouldn't have put it like that, but yes."

Kabren picked my pack up and handed it back to me. The act itself seemed more "pick this disgusting Man-made thing up" than say "here you are, milady," but I _begrudgingly_ took it back from him anyway.

As I adjusted the straps and threw it back on, he walked back to the great Maple. He, once more, placed his palm back on the old knot and mumbled something under his breath. It sounded something like,

"Lech-nime, shay woven cove err may. Be-est may Kabren. Be-est may Sorrow."

After he'd taken his hand away, the main trunk of the tree seemed to all but disappear, leaving behind only a small dark entryway leading down to…well, it was too dark to tell. It looked as though it were going straight down into nothingness. I was suddenly reminded of Disney's, 'Alice in Wonderland.' …Only, I somehow had difficulty picturing the white rabbit _cursing_ and threatening Alice into submission.

"Come, Sorrow. The path to Faery is only a few meters down."

"I'm afraid of heights."

"Very well, I'll go first. You follow afterwards. And try not to worry, I assure you, I'll catch you," and having said that, he jumped feet first into the small opening.

"…Yeah, sure…says the guy who just cursed me.," I mumbled.

"What was that?," he called out from the blackness below the ground.

"Nothing. You ready?," I said before he could reply.

And then, I closed my eyes and dove down into the nothingness. I panicked and began flailing my arms, mid-jump, until I felt his strong hands pluck me from the air and hold onto me until he was certain I'd gained my footing.

And then, the next leg of our journey began. The underground path was moist and negotiating the roots below made the ones far above seem like child's play. I stumbled behind Kabren for what seemed like hours. Everything was black as pitch, I had only my glow in the dark wrist-watch to help guide me. It was the equivalent of trying to mountain climb at night with the aid of a neurotic firefly…(which I don't recommend, by the way).

"We have arrived in the lands of Seelie."

Kabren chivalrously waved his hand out in front of himself, presenting me with a huge wall of dirt which blocked off the tunnel. I was utterly baffled…

"But it's a 'dead-end,' Kabren."

"To a human, perhaps. Watch and do as I do," he said as he leaned back against the wall and sunk straight into it. The dirt seemed to engulf his body. And, like quicksand, he was absorbed bit by bit until nothing of him remained. Through several inches of muffled earth, he called out to me,

"Now you, Sorrow!"

I looked closely at the wall and ran my hands along the impacted soil. I could at least lean back against it, it felt solid enough. As I began to pull back my hand, a few slimy grubs came back with me, greedily sticking to the smoothness of my fingernails. I screamed.

"Oh, for cripe's sake!," I heard him mutter, before his pale hand plunged through the infested-dirt wall, grabbed me roughly, and pulled me through it mid-scream.

"…Why does everything have to be an 'ordeal' with you?," he sighed while his eyes narrowed and he ran a clean hand through his hair. I looked like a dirty rat while he remained pristine…which confounded me, after all, he'd gone through the same dirt wall I had, right?

Of course, I'd missed most of his quip, as I was doubled-over spitting out the dirt I'd inhaled while I was being engulfed by the magical wall. …Eventually, I stopped dry-heaving and stood upright. I was in a vast room, made completely of wood. It was like being inside a hollowed-out log. But smoother, it sort of reminded me of the smooth wood rich people sometimes used for banisters which accompanied intricately ornate winding staircases. This wood couldn't be alive, and yet it was so organic looking that, I swear, the walls seemed as though they were breathing. Well, every wall, save the nasty one we came through…that one still remained the same coffee-ground hued dirt that it had always been.

"Are we still-"

"-Underground? Yes. You'll find that most of the Fae choose to live beneath the surface, away from humans. …Come, we've further to go yet. These tunnels may be ancient, but most still lead straight to the Palace Grounds."

I followed closely behind Kabren. The air smelled odd down here. It wasn't musty or moldy smelling, like you'd think it would be. Like the walls, the air smelled organic, and more like an orchard in full bloom. It reminded me of my 5th grade field trip to a Botanical Garden. …How was it possible that all of this was down here and no human on Earth, to date, knew about it? …And before I could digest all of the wonder and profound implications, I heard the sick and all-too-familiar laughter coming from around the wooden bend before us.

"About time, you fools were supposed to meet us at the Great tree," Kabren said with an authoritative tone.

"Your Grace! My Lady! Welcome to the Seelie Lands. Forgive the delay, you know how flippant this one can be!," said the fairy boy with the childlike body and translucent wings folded up along his back, as he pointed defensively at his gnome-like cohort.

"Your Grace! That tisn't true! Everyone knows that Sprites be liars! Please, don't you be listening!," the short fleshy, white-bearded little man said as he nervously toyed with the hair growing from inside his vast inner ear.

The two were dressed like toddlers, wearing brown onesie-like jumpsuits with black tights. Was Osh-kosh having a winter clearance sale that I hadn't heard about?

"Sorrow, this is Eadrek and Hurr. Try not to judge them too harshly, lesser Fae won't bother adapting to try and fit your preconceived human notions. Perhaps you should consider adapting your way of thinking to _them_. It would serve you far better if you did that from here on out," Kabren said with a sardonic smile, having caught my anxious expression.

…Little did he know the real reason I was fearful. I truly could've cared less about these creatures differences in appearance when compared to Kabren or myself. It was their murderous tendencies and blood-thirsty appetite that had me much more concerned.

"Why are they here?," I asked him, apprehensively.

"For your safety. Despite their miniscule size, they are quite vicious, so don't underestimate them.," he said, as though he thought this information would be a comfort to me.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it.," I said, a little too quickly.

…Kabren didn't cotton-on to my odd behavior, but Eadrek certainly did. Who knows? Maybe it was the _way_ I'd said it, but it was at that particular moment that I drew Eadrek's intense gaze. He'd eyed me sharply, as if he knew I had known there was something dark and sinister about him. …Well, I _did_, but him _knowing_ my feelings simply terrified me.

"Now then, it's time for me to go on ahead and explain this, you being here, to your King. In the meantime, these two will escort you the rest of the way," and having said that, Kabren vanished before my eyes, leaving with a nod and a crisp smile.

"Kabren, wait! DON'T GO-," I begged…and, just like that, he was gone and I was now all alone with _them_.

The two creatures walked around me, eyeing me up and down…like I was dinner.

"She don't look much like a Queen, do she, Eadrek?," the fat bearded one asked.

"No."

"Uh, shouldn't we get moving or something?," I croaked out nervously.

"I don't know how, but I sense it. You _know_ me, don't you, _human child_?," Eadrek said as he took a menacing step closer to me.

At that point, I quickly weighed my options. From what I'd witnessed last night, I knew these two were predators at heart. If I showed them any sign of fear, they would attack me. I had to bluff my way through this…and that meant playing the only card I had. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of me truly _hated_ myself for having to do it.

"Kabren won't be happy if we just stand around here dawdling and trading insults!," I said with false-bravado and much more force than I'd intended. (Anyone who knew me personally, would've seen right through my performance. Then again, I wasn't exactly dealing with rocket scientists here, was I?)

"Shh, Eadrek, don't be back-talking! His Grace'll kill the both of us! Tisn't _my_ wish to die in Seelie lands!," Hurr said nervously, as he grabbed the right wing of his cohort with excessive force.

"Be silent, fool!," Eadrek shot back at Hurr, though his eyes full of mistrust, remained fixed upon me, "My gut tells me you _know _things. You could do us harm. I taint never been wrong before. But, I don't know what you do or daint know… Time's a wastin.' An since killing you ain't an option, how's about I _trade_ you for your silence?"

"…Trade? What kind of a trade?," I asked, though inside I was happily sighing with relief that I'd made the right call, acting…instead of running away screaming.

"Well, Eadrek and I, often trade in trinkets, lies, secrets, and what-not. …What'll it be, Miss?," Hurr blurted out.

"Well… I'm a human in Faeryland. Tell me how to protect myself here. You know, just in case Kabren accidentally forgets about me and leaves me stranded with a couple of psychos or something."

"Protection, hmm?," Eadrek said as he rubbed his pale chin, clearly my attempts at humor to lighten the mood, were wasted on him.

"We could tell er' about the 'pull'!'" Hurr eagerly chimed in, wanting desperately to participate in what he'd thought was a pretty entertaining game.

"Twasn't my first thought, but seeing as how you've already gone and opened the flood portal, why not?" Eadrek said with frustration, and then he resumed watching me, "Do not eat or drink anything in Faery, human, for if you do…it'll be the end of _you_. The pull to stay among us in thrall is great, no human can withstand it."

"Why is that?"

"Consider our bargain sealed. Now, you know of me, not."

"But, you didn't answer me-"

"-Because you've nothing more to trade!," Eadrek fiercely spat at me.

I blinked my eyes a few times in shock and felt my cheeks burn hot with embarrassment. I gave myself a mental shake and took a deep breath. I then took off my pack and began rummaging around inside of it. If only I'd have known I'd be needing knick-knacks to trade with…*sigh.*

Eventually, I settled on a half-squished pre-packaged dual-Twinkie snack-pack. The overly-sweet cream filling had poured out and was currently congealing against the inside bottom corner of the clear wrapper. The yellow cakes looked disgusting…hell, _I_ wouldn't even eat them at this point. But, they were the only snacks that remained intact and weren't already partially opened, they were all I had… I held up the spongy vanilla packaging and pasted on my best (though thoroughly unconvincing) smile of triumph.

"Well, you're in luck! Here you are, the best human snack, me and our local '7-11' have to offer!"

Hurr made an immediate grab for the package, just as Eadrek snatched it away from his fingertips. The winged boy placed the crumpled clear plastic up against his nose, and then eyed its' contents with a sneer.

"No deal, it stinks of 'Man' and the poisons _your_ kind create." he said as he threw it back to me, roughly.

"Fine, don't trade! That just means more for me!" I snapped back at Eadrek, though Hurr wore a wounded expression as I returned the moist package to the inside of my pack from whence it came.

"Come along, Hurr, we've no more time for tom-foolery. It'll be getting dark here soon. Seelie patrols won't be taking kindly to the likes of _us_."

"Dark? But, My Mother! Kabren lied to me! He promised me I'd be back before she got out of work today!"

"Don't worry, Miss, the human world moves-"

"-THAT MEANS _NOW_, HURR! YOU ALREADY SAID MORE'N YA SHOULD-A!," and with that, Eadrek flew on ahead a bit, leading the way down the lengthy wooden tunnel.

Hurr hesitated as he made to take a step to follow Eadrek...and then turned back to look at me…

"…Shh. Our Lord does not lie, the human world moves faster than Faery. Time be runnin' different here. Now please, Miss.," he whispered to me while gesturing wildly for me to quickly follow Eadrek.

I held my backpack in one arm as I briskly followed Eadrek, Hurr was close behind me. I plunged my free hand into my pack and quickly withdrew the mangled Twinkies. I opened the top portion so the little cakes could breathe, and then carelessly tossed the snack over my shoulder.

…Seconds later, I could hear the distinct sounds of lip-smacking, as Hurr greedily ingested the treat, the cardboard, plastic wrap and all…

* * *

To be cont...

* * *

**Author's Comments:**

PLEASE R & R IF YOU LIKED IT :-)

-nic :-)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - "Fairy Tales"

* * *

The three of us had been wandering around in the cavernous wooden tunnels for what felt like _ages_. …And here in the underground, where there was absolutely no concept of time, it very well could have been.

"Are we there yet?" I asked, anxiously, for about the hundredth time.

"No. …And it be mighty slow going towing a _human_ child around."

"She's a full grown lass, not a _babe_, Eadrek. …Tain't no arguing the human part though, …and humans do get tuckered out easier an' us." Hurr said as he looked down, purposefully kicking a pebble with an audible *_plink_* off a tunnel wall to avoid meeting Eadrek's disgusted look.

"So, you be thinking we ought to rest a bit? …Fine then, Hurr, on _your_ head be it." Eadrek said with a humorless smile.

Hurr gulped, and then turned himself slightly to face me.

"Eadrek's in a ripe way. Best to be getting some sleep while we're still able."

"Not that I don't um, appreciate what you just said, but I don't really think I'm going to get any sleep here." I said to Hurr as quiety as I could.

"And why not? Think yer too good to be sleeping on raw ground? You tain't _royalty! _Yer just a foolish _human_ girl! See that, Hurr? I didn't say _child_! …And t' think I could be sinking my teeth into a hot mug o'nettles n' tea right now, stead' o'protectin' a worthless-"

"-_Halfbreed like me_? That's what you think, right? …Yep, I think I nailed it there, didn't I, Tinker Bell? I've heard it all before! And, let me tell you, Madeline's delivery was a hell of a lot more intimidating than yours! And I already know that you aren't allowed to kill me, so stop pushing my buttons _Y-YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS LITTLE FAIRYTALE REJEC_T!"

My weariness had made me punch-drunk and rash. I'd yelled out the insult before a reasonable thought could make it's way to my head. Yes, I had spoken foolishly without a care in the world…and way before I could prepare myself for what I was about to endure.

Eadrek's expression turned deadly as he flew over to me, blowing some kind of dust-like substance right into my face. …I didn't breathe any of it in, I was sure of that! But despite my certainty of this, my body instantly fell to the ground anyway. I found I was suddenly no longer able to support my own weight. And as I made a grab for the ground to brace myself against the impact, I landed hard on my knees. …And my all-too-brief control over my hands lasted only long enough to feel the pain shoot up my arm, just before the rest of me gave in completely and fell to the floor in a heap. ...I was just too weakened and tired to hold myself upright.

Lying on the ground, my vision became blurry and my tongue seemed to thicken too much for me to attempt to speak. And I'm still amazed that I managed to roll my head on its' side, just as a wave of nausea hit me. …Eadrek slid his fingertips along my jaw-line until he'd reached my earlobe. He bent down and whispered-

"Let me _show_ you a thing er two about fairytales, _human brat_. Cause' you really shoulda' realized by now that they're all true, every…last…one." He said while my eyes were losing thier focus and shutting themselves of their own accord.

The last thing I remember was feeling him roughly brush my hair aside, while his fingernails delicately emptied the same powdery substance he'd used earlier into my ear along with…ugh, …_fairy_ _spit_.

(What the hell? Why did Fae magic always seem to involve their bodily fluids? I MEAN, EWW, _GROSS_!)

…And, suddenly, off to sleepy land I went.

….

/**The dream**/

….

I don't know how or when I knew I was dreaming. I just somehow, instinctively, knew that I was. …After all, I would _never_ have thought up a dream in which I embodied a buxom woman in her mid-20's, blond, and living in Ireland around the time of the Celtic Iron Age. (I mean, seriously people, I'm just not that creative.)

And, how cliché, I was on a green rolling hill somewhere near Munster province and I was dressed disturbingly similar to that _chick_ you'd find on a box of hot chocolate. ...Yet, for some nutty reason, none of this seemed to bother me, as I found myself strolling down the hill, mid-afternoon, into a quaint Irish town carrying (how humiliating) two buckets of water on my shoulders. I strode confidently into a local tavern and deposited the water into a basin near the bar-keep, a grey-haired man in a worn-out brown vest.

"Evening, Genova. Seems ye got an admirer. E' Left ye this and tipped me plenty nice to see ye get it." The old man said as he handed me a fancy ivory scroll with a blue wax seal impregnated on it.

"Thank-ye kindly, I'll be off to read it then, shall I?"

"Yer here till dusk or the wife'll have my hide!"

"You best be splitting that tip then, lest I tell ole' Bess about ye newfound wealth." I said with a flirtatious smile.

"Fine, off with ye." He answered back, shaking his head, with a warm grin.

I ran out the back door of the bar and eagerly read the scrolled letter near the alleyway leading to the street. I felt a flush of desire as the written words washed over me.

**"_My Dearest,_**

**_My father's inheritance has been declared, __I am now able to provide for you the life you've always dreamed of. I can wait no longer for the feel of your embrace. If marriage is what you seek, then a life with me awaits you. If you agree to my proposal, you need only to meet me at the church tonight at dusk._**

**_Truly yours,_**

**_Daniel"_**

My chest was pounding furiously, as I clutched the precious letter to my heart. Finally, the day had come that I'd long been waiting for… I looked at the sun as it began to make its' decent beyond the hill. I squealed with delight, as I ran ahead full speed in the direction of the minister. I got about a mile down the road…

"Well now, aren't you a pretty one." Came a smooth male voice from out of no where.

I stopped abruptly and turned around to see an English Lord sitting casually on a bale of hay. He was blond, well-spoken, and otherworldly handsome…he (quite literally) took my breath away. And he was so obviously out of place, that my mind was reeling. My body froze, as he quickly spanned the distance between us and placed his hand around my corseted waist, pulling me against him in a much too intimate way. ...But the shock from his overly-forward gesture jarred me right back to my senses.

"Keep yer distance!" I spat, as I pushed against him to free myself. My precious scrolled letter fluttered to the ground amidst a mud puddle. The beautifully written words, from the only man I ever loved, became blurry and illegible as the brown water soaked it's way through them.

"Such a shame, _that_. Though, as a consolation, you should take comfort in knowing you'll be sorely missed." The English Lord said with a sickly smile.

It was only _then_ that he'd allowed me to see him for what he truly was. His ears were now long and pointed. His eyes were a shade of blue that one could never find on a man, no _human_ man. I looked deep into them, despite my fears…and then I could recall nothing.

I awoke to total darkness and a female voice. It sounded hostile towards me, though the words sounded like that of an angel.

"Indaleeha embos sed, shay kane? …Elsa rife late en _human, eere mode, ovant en dell ou!" _(_My Lord and Husband, he may be, but taking a whore into MY very hearth? …And a __**human**__ one, at that, I'll not allow!)_

…Again, my world turned to total sensory deprivation and darkness…though I could distinctly remember having heard the word "human."

...I woke up eight months later and clawed my way up from a shallow grave in a town 20 miles away from my home. As I attempted to make my way back, I shed tears at the state of myself and all that I'd lost. …Those _inhuman monsters_ had wiped out my memories for the better part of a year and left me destitute, homeless, and very very pregnant. No, I had been used and forsaken, I could never face the accusations and riducule that I knew would await me at home. Fear and shame kept me in the sad little town I wound up in. And that was only the beginning…

I worked night and day to support my fatherless child. Luckily, I still held enough beauty to ensnare a Husband, though he was unworthy of my love and a rather shady man of questionable character. To complete the curse, and adding insult to injury, every child I bore him (including my first) was in constant need of care…as their bodies were malformed, each more so than the last. I worked myself to the bone and then some to care for them far into their adolescence. And through it all, each of my children maintained the mind of the mentally ill. My depression and sadness grew heavier as each tryst and each passing year would yield, yet another, broken child. The villagers pitied me as my beauty and Husband soon left me. And the local children teased me with their unrelenting rhymes…

"_There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed."_

It should be known that despite their degenerative conditions, I loved each and every one of my children until the day each of them died of natural causes. This too, was part of my curse. The abuse I'd suffered from those terrible creatures should have been enough to satisfy _them_. Yet, even after the death of my children, I was ridiculed and labeled a murderess. ...And then, even upon my deathbed, those words continued their torment of me. Though, it may surprise you to know that they were not the words of that cursed rhyme. No, the true cruelty came from the words of my beloved _Daniel _that would haunt me throughout time-

"_I can wait no longer for the feel of your embrace. If marriage is what you seek, then a life with me awaits you." _

Alas, the words of what might have been had I not had the misfortune to draw **_their_** attention-)

* * *

-And then I found my teenage mind being forcibly shaken right out of that poor woman's nightmarish experience-

* * *

"-Sorrow? Wake up, Sorrow!" I heard from a familiar dwarvish voice.

"Oh leave it! I told you I've stopped it. ...Or, I woulda,' if she didn't stop it herself. ...Hmm, maybe she truly be of _Royal_ Seelie blood. ...You always be gettin' yer feathers ruffled o'er nothin'." Eardek stated in a lazy tone.

"Damn you, Eadrek! That child be _marked_ by Lord Kabren, _himself!_" Said Hurr defensively.

(What little I'd heard of their conversation, during my brief moments of lucidity, baffled me. …Why were they arguing? And, more importantly, wasn't Hurr saying just a little while earlier that I was, in fact, a _grown-up?)_

* * *

…And then I drifted off into, yet another, dream. ...This one, born from my own mind and made of all things familiar…

* * *

…I was at school, sitting in the library instead of going to lunch, as was my usual M.O. I was in the past. …And it was on this particular lonely day that a stranger would come near me and sit down beside me. Odd, because I'd never even heard her sit down. She was just _there_. I was a loner and she was new in our school. I guess it made sense, she obviously hadn't gotten the memo that I was a _nobody._ I figured, if she'd an inkling of desire to get ahead socially, she'd best sit somewhere else. And I was just about to tell her so when-

"Sorry to bother you, but you look a lot nicer than the other kids that go here. …And that's a great book you're reading, by the way."

I glanced at the cover of the paperback. It was a twisted book of tales & legends, based loosely on the works of the Brothers Grimm. I looked at the new girl a bit more closely now. She had fine, mousey brown, hair which didn't look as though she'd ever cut it. It looked so silky and a most natural color of brown that was rare with all the dye jobs running around this zoo. Her eyes were deep-set which gave her a rather mysterious look. I cleared my throat…it had been awhile since someone my age had spoken to me, I was rather taken back by the whole thing.

"Uh…I-I'm surprised you've read this. I usually read more serious stuff but I always find myself going back to my favorites. This reminds me of the stuff that was read to me when I was little." I said with a blush of embarrassment.

"Don't be ashamed of it, I happen to love fairytales! …Especially after having spent the better part of a day in _this_ place."

"Yeah, welcome to suck-ville. _This_ place pretty much blows. I bet your last school was a lot better. This book isn't even from the school library, I had to borrow it from the Library outside of town. We're practically in the dark ages here. And the last teen magazine they got was from last summer. But the losers here still drool over it like it's better than Chaucer!"

"Oh, I just _loved_ the Canterbury Tales! They're just so quintessentially classic." She said with a distant look and a warm smile.

"Really, you've actually read them? Nobody ever knows what the hell I'm talking about around here. Where on Earth did you come from?" I asked her excitedly.

As soon as I'd uttered the phrase she began to squirm slightly in her chair and quickly turned the conversation away from herself.

"So, how come you're in here instead of eating lunch with everybody else?"

It was now _my_ turn to get uncomfortable.

"…It's sort of…um, personal."

"…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry or anything." She said with a genuinely friendly, yet apologetic, smile.

"It's ok, you didn't really. ...Look, all the cafeteria kids do is 'yes man' each other about who's popular and who's not, who's screwing who, and then they always sit in these stupid little groups. Those groups are like vultures the way they look down on all the poor stragglers who sit by themselves. ...All those popular kids do is bully, point, and stare…like the monosyllabic lemmings that they are. ...I like it better in here, where I don't have to deal with all that. ...And besides, there's never anything _good_ to eat in there anyway."

"…I see. Well then, I guess it's a good thing I wound up _here_." She said with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, in some far away lands, some might even say '_you lucked out_.'"

And, having said that, we both erupted into fits of giggles that earned us several unwelcome glances from the two librarians, the only other occupants in the room.

"_Hope_." She said as she extended her hand out to me.

"Sarah…but please, call me 'Star.' …What can I say, I'm a huge fan of all things _ironic_."

"Nice to meet you, _Star_. …Now then, tell me something about _this place _that doesn't suck." She said, looking straight at me, as she maintained a concerned expression.

…Of course, I'd known even back then what she'd really meant-

(-_Tell me something about your life that isn't awful.)_

…And so, I told her everything. I told her every torrid secret I'd ever had, right then and there. Enter _HOPE_, stage left…_Hope…Hope…Hope…Hope_-

….

* * *

"…Hope." I said aloud as I continued to remain in my half-dreaming/half-awake state.

"See that Hurr? She'll be just fine, ya ole' worry wart. _Fine_, and I'm bettin', _full of hope._"

"Hope? …You don't think she be meanin' 'Hopeela Centaura,' do you?"

"That missing Seelie Knight? …I doubt it. ...You shoulda been sleepin' too! I told ya I got first watch!"

"...Lord Kabren's been gone a long time."

"Told ya, we're to meet im' there!"

"But what if-"

"-No, Hurr! He's_ there_, just like we'll be there by the morrow! Now _shut it _and sleep!"

"Fine, ya snippy twaddled pigs-bladder!"

"_FINE_ YOURSELF, YA PITT-FACE MACKLE!" Eadrek shot back.

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

…Raspberry's and profanity could be heard coming from both directions (for several hours) throughout this particular region of tunnel. Eventually everyone, including Eadrek, fell asleep…much to the amusement of the Seelie Faery Guard, who'd come to investigate the reported disturbance.

* * *

(To be Cont….)

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**From the Author:** Please Review, it really helps inspire me to write the next chapter faster, if I know somebody's actually reading and enjoying it. -Nikkione ;-)


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